Yesterday we published an article about the lack of a universal error correction standard in broadcast media. In the piece, we made note of CBS' PublicEye blog and its mission to bring more transparency to the news operation. We sent along a few correction/error-related questions to the PublicEye folks and they promptly responded with information from CBS News insiders. Some excerpts are below. You can read the entire post here. We have to give the PublicEye folks their due for getting back to us so quickly with some interesting information.
On handling errors in a broadcast:
Linda Mason, Senior Vice President for Standards and Special Projects at CBS News told me how the network deals with those mistakes depends largely on how substantive the error – and that is a judgment call. Mason said if an error is serious enough it is corrected on the air, as the “Evening News” recently did when it displayed the wrong picture of one of the prisoners who escaped from Gitmo. But if it is a minor factual error or “something that clarifies or puts an issue in a better context,” a note would be made on the Web site where there is more space. Mason also said that all scripts are fact-checked before airing, but noted that does not guarantee mistakes are always avoided.
Online errors:
The Web site is a place where errors made both on air and on the site can easily be corrected. Mike Sims, director of News and Operations for CBSNews.com, says any potential error will be looked at and will receive either a “clarification” or a “correction” depending on what is warranted. Where the clarification or correction is carried, and how long it remains on the site, depends on the importance of the issue. “The visibility it gets depends on how serious it is,” said Sims, who also noted that unless an error is caught immediately, changes are always to be noted.
On creating a static corrections page on the CBS News website:
...I asked Sims and Mason about the possibility of having a “corrections page” on the Web site and both said that is something there has been plenty of discussion about. Sims said everyone is considering the issue and “trying to find the best way” to institute corrections on the site. Stay tuned, we’ll let you know if and when that discussion comes to any kind of implementation.
We look forward to it.
